About This Book

Until Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, African Americans were shut out of the all-American pastime — major league baseball. Thousands of talented athletes were excluded, simply because of the color of their skin.

And so they formed their own leagues.

The history of the Negro Leagues is the story of legendary heroes such as Cool Papa Bell, who some say was the fastest runner ever to steal a base, and Satchel Paige, whose fastball was called a Bee Ball because all the batter heard was a buzz as it zinged past him over the plate.

The players were forced to endure segregated, second-rate living and playing conditions, but their talent, courage, and determination were always first-rate.